If You Give A Woodpecker A Cake
by TheBranchesOfSin
Summary: Ganta Igarashi has an unexpected visitor the night before his field trip to Deadman Wonderland. His new guest returns his kindness with something he will never forget!


I just want to begin by thanking you for showing some interest in reading this story. Originally, I planned on making this short story a full length retelling of the Deadman Wonderland plot. I was basically retelling the manga/anime with some additions and changes to the storyline and plot. However, I've decided to just let the first chapter be its own little story. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

 _Disclaimer: Deadman Wonderland is property of Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou. I have written this story for only entertainment purposes and nothing else._

* * *

 _On the top of a steep hill was a boy watching the orange evening sun setting slowly across the sky of Tokyo. He was sitting there patiently waiting for his friend to show up. To pass time, he would point in the sky at the various shapes and animals, play with his Aceman doll, and draw woodpecker symbols on his hands. But none of these activities seemed interesting. He was more focused on the doors of the nearby large, pale hospital._

" _I wonder if Shiro is done today?"_

 _In that moment the door crack open and he stood up to get a better look. He couldn't make out what is was entirely. He squinted his eyes to see that it was something snow-white and blowing in the wind. "Shiro?" He could almost feel his smile reach the end of his face. "She must be trying to play with me!" His palms were sweaty and his eyes were lit up like the night sky. He started making his way towards the building,"Now we can finally play tag, hide and go seek, leap frog ..."He started to slow up once he saw that it was just a lab jacket. The scientist was talking with someone until he decided to return back inside. The boy was alone once again, but now he was in front of the Medical Center._

 _There were only a few people that were here this late in the day. Most of them were scientist working for the director. The blinds were all shut and most of the doors were locked to keep people from coming in. The Medical Center didn't run like this at first. It all started when the director decided to operate on what he called "guinea pigs" for his research. The boy's mother was also involved with his research, and always required the aid of his playmate. Unbeknownst to the boy was that one of the "guinea pigs" the director mentioned was his best friend._

 _He sighed and made his way back up the hill."I wanted to play today, but mom needed to run some more test." He hadn't seen her since this afternoon, and now most of the day was gone. "I guess she'll come out eventually." Just before he sat back on the towel, he had an idea."I know!" Ganta tied the blanket around his neck, "Instead of waiting I'll go cheer her up in my Aceman outfit." He raced back down the hill, and stood in front of the opaque doors of the Medical Center._

 _He opened the doors to see the help desk was empty. The long, dark halls were foreboding as if something was telling him to go back. Ganta made his way down the hall gripping the toy in his hands. As he was getting close to emergency room,he could hear the screams and cries of people echoing down the halls. He could feel chills down his spine as he put his hand on the handle. He took a deep breath, and managed to sum up the courage to go inside the room._

 ** _One mischievous little woodpecker_  
 _Another day, pecking your holes_  
 _Ruining the woods, tree wrecker_**

 _He dropped the toy upon entering. "Shiro?"Ganta looked at the gruesome picture placed in front of him. All around was the blood of scientists painted along the walls and floor. Their bodies of were ripped into pieces. The sheep in the corner was shivering itself to death. And standing in the middle of this nightmare was a shadowy figure about his height crying. The figure began approaching as he stepped back. "Get back!" The figure stomped on the toy and continued moving closer to the frightened boy. He felt his back touch the wall as the figure stretched its hand out to him. "Get away from me!"He slapped away the hand, and ran away leaving the figure alone. He was running through the hallways crying about what he had saw. "It can't be! It just can't be!"He shoved the doors open, and everything became engulfed in a white light._

 _ **"Ganta!"**_

"Ah!"Ganta popped up from his bed in a sweat. While trying to catch his breath, he could feel his body trembling. He couldn't explain the various emotions his body was exhibiting. It was anxiety, sadness, guilt, and anger all wrapped into one. _Was that real, or was it a dream?_ He started grabbing his face, chest, and even hair to see if he was still there. _It was just a dream._ A sigh of relief escaped his lips.

He stepped into the bathroom and took several handfuls of water to splash on his face. After wiping the water away,he took a look at himself in the mirror. His hair was messy, his eyes were red, and his face looked exhausted. _That nightmare really did a number on me._ His hands were shaking as he held onto the edge sink _._ He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly to ease his nerves.

He stepped back into his room, and noticed the curtains flapping in the wind. _I don't remember leaving the window open._ After shutting the window, he sat back on his bed and stretched his arms. _I'd better get some sleep for that field trip today._ Ganta laid down on the mattress and closed his eyes.

 _Huh?_ Something felt warm and soft in his hand. _What's this?_ He took a firm grip of whatever he was holding, and heard a soft moan come from under the blanket. _I can't seem to move my arm._ He opened his eyes to see his arm being pulled under the blanket. "Nice try, Yamakatsu but you're …."

He stopped once he saw an albino girl sleeping with his arm between her breasts. _It's a girl!_ He thought about what he did, and how the moan of the girl sounded pleasant to his ears. _Get that thought out of your head._ The blush across his cheeks was going to make his head explode. Every time he would try to pull his arm out she would pull him closer.

Since he couldn't escape, he decided to take a look at this snow-white sleeping in his bed. Her pale skin was wrapped in a peach bodysuit decorated with spirals and stripes. Her hands were covered with large brown oven mitts. _What an unusual girl._ Ganta inched closer to the stranger in his bed. _I've never seen her before._

"Boo!"

"Ah!"Surprised by this, Ganta fell off the the bed.

Shiro peeked over the edge to see him laying head first on the floor. "Oops."

"Who are you?" He started rubbing the back of his head once he got up. "And what are you doing in my room?"

"Shiro, wanted to play with Ganta!"

"Huh? You know my name?"

"Of course I know Ganta's name." Shiro answered as she started jumping on his bed. "He's my friend."

 _I'm her friend?_ He stood in the middle of the room confused by the girl's words. _I don't even know who she is._

"Come on Ganta play." Shiro grabbed Ganta's hand and pulled him up on the bed. He was just standing there as she was bouncing around. "Jump like Shiro, Ganta."

"Okay." He started jumping up and down on the mattress. _I barely even know this girl._ It was strange, he had just met her two minutes ago, and now their bouncing around as if they were childhood friends. _Did I know Shiro before? And I if I did, from where?_ He looked up to see her bouncing happily on his mattress

"This is fun, isn't it Ganta?"

"Yeah, Shiro it is."

In the midst of their playing, Ganta noticed she was bleeding from her left hand."Shiro, stop!" He walked over to the girl and removed her mitten. "Looks like you cut yourself."

"No pain Ganta, because I'm..."

"Come on," He interjected as he grabbed her hand and starting walking to the door. "There is a first aid kit downstairs."

The two exited the room, and made their way down the dark hall. Every step they made down the hall resulted in a loud screech echoing in the hall. There was a noise before they made it to the stairs. The two turned around to see that Yamakastu's light was on. As they approached his door, the sound became distinct. It was someone counting numbers followed by a thumping noise. They took a peek inside to see the tanned young man kicking a soccer ball in the air. He was in his usual sleepwalking state, and this time he was in the middle of a big game.

"Even in his sleep he thinks about soccer," Ganta whispered. "Alright, Shiro let's go." He turned around to see she disappeared."Where did she ..." When he looked back inside he saw she was in front of Yamakatsu, who was ready to make the game winning shot.

"So you're the new goalie everyone's been talking about." Yamakatsu was switching the ball between his feet trying to confuse Shiro. "Try and catch this!" He kicked the ball towards the window but luckily she caught it.

"Yay!" She exclaimed as she held the ball over her head in triumph.

"I'm sorry coach, but I lost the game." He hung his head in defeat.

"Don't worry, Yamakastu," Ganta said in a gruff voice as he guided Yamakatsu to the bed."We'll just try harder next time."

"Thanks coach."

As Ganta pulled up the door, he could hear Yamakatsu complaining about his "match". Once downstairs, he made his way to the storage closet next to the kitchen. When he opened it, dozens of soccer balls came crashing down on top of his head. Watching them roll around the floor made only one name come to mind. _Yamakatsu._

Once he managed to get himself up, he began his search under the pile of boxes in the corner. _Now where did we put that first aid kit._ He started digging deep by pushing and sliding the cases to the side. He stopped for a moment when he saw a box with his name labeled on the top. _Huh?_ He unfolded the sides to see the only thing inside of it was a toy. _Hey, this is t_ _he Viscoelastic Warrior: Aceman._ When he looked closer he saw that it was in pieces. _Man what happened to it?_ Its face was divided by a crack in the middle , and the arms, legs, and neck were all torn away from the body. _I'll just leave it here._ He carefully placed it back in the box, and continued his search.

Meanwhile, Shiro had wondered off into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and started scanning each shelf for sugary confections. _It's too cold for candy._ After closing the fridge, she noticed the last slice of cake on the shelf up above. Its white icing made her eyes light up like stars. _Cake!_ She walked over to the table, then slid one of the chairs in front of the door. She stepped up on the back and reached out to the piece. _Shiro can.. almost.. reach it._ She turned to the side to see him still rummaging through boxes. By seeing him trying to help her, she became determined to get that cake. _Shiro, must get for Ganta!_ She arched her body further until she finally got hold of the pastry. _I got it._ Unfortunately,the chair gave away due to it being only on one leg.

"Hey Shiro, I found the …." He was interrupted by the girl falling on top of his back.

As she sat on his back, she slid her finger across the side of the cake, and tasted the sugary frosting. "Hmm!"

They made their way back into his room.

While he was wrapping the bandage around her hand, she was trying to offer him a bite. "No thanks Shiro I don't..."She shoved a piece of cake in before he could finish.

"Is it good, Ganta?" She asked watching him chew and swallow the last piece.

After chewing, he took a moment to savor the smooth, delicious flavor."Yeah, it was good."

"Ganta, what's that?" She asked as she pointed at the desk.

"You mean this?" He picked up the phone and showed it to her.

"No," She said as she shook her head back and forth. "That."She tapped her finger on the symbol.

"Oh, it's a woodpecker."

"Draw," She demanded as she removed her mitten, and held out her right hand. He drew one perfectly in the middle of her palm. When he was finished, she decided to draw one on his right hand. The symbol she drew wasn't as neat and clean as his. "Now Shiro and Ganta are best friends."She asked as she held her palm in front of Ganta to show her symbol.

 _Best friends?_ He glanced down at the rough doodle of the woodpecker. To him it was just a drawing, but to Shiro this symbol seemed important. Maybe he did know this girl. Maybe they were friends at an earlier point in clenched his hand, and looked back up to face the girl.

"Ganta!"

He turned his head to see Yamakatsu standing in the doorway. "Something wrong, Yamakatsu?" Ganta turned back to see Shiro had vanished. _Where did she go?_

Yamakatsu looked around the room and then out the open window,"I could have sworn I heard another voice." He looked back at Ganta, who forgot to wipe the icing off his cheek. "Hey! Isn't that my piece of cake?"

Once Yamakatsu left, Ganta flopped down on his pillow, and started reflecting about what happened tonight. He held his hand above his head, then gazed outside at the moon, _Shiro._

Meanwhile on the roof of the house, Shiro was staring at the woodpecker symbol on her hand. She closed her eyes, and held her palm over her heart, _Ganta._

 _ **The angry old forest god turned your poor beak into a poison knife**_ **  
** _ **Poor little wood pecker, your nesting holes are all tainted**_ **  
** _ **Your food with toxins rife**_

"Yamakatsu wake up!" Ganta exclaimed as he hoisted a bag around his shoulders.

"Just five more minutes coach." Yamakatsu dug his head deeper into the pillow.

 _Just don't blame me when you get left behind._ Ganta walked outside and made his way to down the street. On his way to school, he decided to take a shortcut in an abandoned tunnel. He could hear someone humming from behind, so he started increasing his pace. He slowed down once the singing had stopped. _Wonder what that was all about?_ A few minutes later the humming returned and now it was louder. _Shit, thought I outran that guy._ As he was running, he turned around to try and get a look at his pursuer. _It looks like …._

He ran into the concrete wall before he could finish his thought. _I should've been paying attention to what was in front of me too._ Ganta got up from the sidewalk, and looked back into the dark passage. _That song sounded familiar._ He shook his head and didn't think about it any longer on his way to school. He stepped inside the classroom to see that there were only a few students in the room. _Made it here earlier than I thought._ He tossed his bag over his chair and flipped open his phone.

"Boy or girl, young or old; here everyone's wildest dreams roam free at Deadman Wonderland!" He took a sip of coffee as he watched as the birds fluttered around the video.

"Morning Ganta."

"Mimi."

She took a seat and turned around in her chair. "Whatcha lookin at?"

"I'm just roaming through some videos on this prison field trip thing."

"I hear it suppose to be some tricked out amusement park."

"Yeah." He started rubbing the back of his neck, "I just wish we were going somewhere different."

"Are you alright?" She started moving her face closer to Ganta. "You look like you had a rough night."

"I just really didn't get enough sleep."

"What happened?"

"He was too busy chatting with some girl last night."

"Hey Yamakatsu." Mimi greeted as she waved.

Yamakatsu waved back and turned his attention to Ganta."Hey, thanks for waiting for me."

"Not my fault." Ganta turned off his phone."You were too busy trying to score the winning shot."

"So what do you think about the trip?" Mimi asked.

"I'm all for it," Yamakatsu answered. "Maybe we'll meet someone who can actually remember what happened at that earthquake ten years ago."

"Aw don't try and bring that crap up again, Yamakatsu!"

"Chill out you two," Mimi turned back to face her desk. "As long as we can get out of school before the exams, then it doesn't matter where we go."

As everyone began to take their seats, he could hear someone humming. _It's that song from earlier._ Ganta started looking around the room to find the source. _Did they follow me here?_ He stood up in his chair, and turned to see who was in the window. It was a man dressed in heavy suit of armor drenched in blood, wrapped in a torn red cape with a sliver mask covering his face. _Who is that!_

He could see the man smiling directly at him. The Red Man shattered the windows with his blood. Ganta covered his face as the translucent shards entered the classroom.

 _Ah!_

When he finally regained consciousness, Ganta found himself in a puddle of liquid. _What happened? And what is this stuff?_ He soon discovered that the strange liquid was blood. He quickly slid away from the puddle. He looked down at his hands, and back up to see the bodies of his classmates scattered across the floors and walls. _This is just like in that nightmare!_ He turned to the side to see the head of his classmate clenched in the Red Man's hand. He couldn't believe who it was.

 _Mimi._

The Red Man tossed her head in Ganta's lap. The lifeless eyeballs staring back made his heart beat at his chest like a drum. He knocked it back, and started sliding towards the back of the classroom. He bumped into someone. It was pieces of Yamakatsu's body arranged in a neatly pile. _First Mimi, and now Yamakastsu._ He wanted to believe that this was a dream, but the man standing in front of him was real. The Red Man began slowly approaching the frightened boy. Ganta felt his back hit the wall _This can't be real! This just can't be real! Everyone is dead!_ Now the Red Man stood before him with a sadistic smile on his face.

 _Am I gonna die too._

Ganta watched as the Red Man fired a beam straight to his chest. It hit him dead center. He gripped his chest. The pain was unlike anything else he had felt. The intense beating of his heart almost made him vomit. The Red Man stood there as he slid from the wall to ground. The last thing he saw was the Red Man walking away.

 _I am going to die._

 _ **Touch your friends, and they all will die falling at your feet  
Oh, sad little woodpecker  
Poisonous tears, shining brightly, as they stream down your cheeks **_

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I would really appreciate it if you let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!


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